People's Movement stops government privatisation programme in Paraguay

Eye witness report from Paraguay Paraguay, one of the smallest and poorest countries in South America, and for many decades ruled by a murderous dictatorship that fiercely repressed any form of political opposition, is today a country in the throes of a popular revolution. For the first time anywhere in the world, a popular struggle, not linked to any political party, has forced a government to put a complete stop to its privatisation programme!

This struggle is being led by the National Co-ordinating Committee of Peasant Farmers' Organisations, supported by secondary and university student organisations, and civil society in general, who have formed a Permanent People's Assembly. A massive march, bringing together activists and supporters from all over the country, was launched on the capital, Asuncion, in May. They demanded of the government and parliament the revoking of laws passed over the past few years, under pressure from the IMF and multinational business interests, to privatise the few public enter